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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Weekly Post: TRACY ARM WILDERNESS - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time by Robert Glenn Ketchum

TRACY ARM WILDERNESS - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time by Robert Glenn Ketchum

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act (#Wilderness), this new blog focuses on a wilderness area in the #Tongass rainforest of southeast Alaska. This is the tale of a 10-day kayak trip - a testament to WHY wilderness is important, by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum.




Tuesday, June 28, 2016

TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #97
TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #97: The rain has stopped. The sky is clearing. The tide has come back in, and the birds have gone. A stunningly glassy calm has settled upon the water and wisps of dense fog drift by. Mountains, glaciers, trees, and shoreline disappear and reappear through the passing veil. Occasionally a curious seal pops up wondering what strange things we are, and my mind drifts. Wilderness Forever! Quite soon our pick-up boat will arrive, and tonight in Juneau we will dine on fresh food, take showers, and sleep in beds... but I would just as soon be here. While this is the last image for this blog post, it is certainly NOT my only remarkable kayak adventure. So if you enjoyed this journey, follow my forthcoming blog: "Icy Bay, bowing at the foot of Mount St. Elias," which will be part of several NEW BLOGS we are launching in the following weeks. As this journey into Tracy Arm has been intended as a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Wilderness Act, Icy Bay will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Parks as Wrangell-St.Elias is our largest. I hope you enjoyed this "trip," and you will join me for others. Bring your friends.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2016, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wilderness #Wilderness #Tongass

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism & Art Online:
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Monday, May 2, 2016

Weekly Post: THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS by Robert Glenn Ketchum

by Robert Glenn Ketchum


This is the story of my first major commission and book, THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS (Aperture, 1985). In 1984, #StephenShore, #WilliamClift, and I received a 2-year commission from the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund to photograph the #HudsonRiverValley. This blog tells the tale of the book, with many photos not seen before. Enjoy!




Monday, May 2, 2016


THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS #187:
HUDSON RIVER #187:   I thought I would end this blog with this image because most of what you have seen in my posts of the #HudsonRiver have been the "lower" river, a much bigger, broader body of water than these two small streams. However, from small streams, greater rivers grow. The Hudson is born from a small, somewhat swampy pond in the higher elevations of #Mt.Marcy, at 5,344ft, the tallest peak in #NewYorkState. #LakeTearOfTheClouds spawns a rivulet that is debatably acknowledged as the source of the Hudson, but others argue the #OpalescentRiver is the source. Regardless, before you lies their juncture. The Hudson comes in from the left, and the Opalescent from the right. A definitive view point, a beautiful fall day, the ruins of some old stone architecture, and not a #HudsonRiverSchool painter in sight. I hope you have enjoyed this body of my work. Although my Hudson River blog is ending, I am using my blogs as my autobiography, so we are starting a new post which I hope you will follow: THE HIGHER YOU GET, THE HIGHER YOU GET - Sun Valley and the Decker Flat Climbing and Frisbee Club.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2016, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wallacefdn @Aperturefnd @PentaxOnline
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.LittleBearProd.com
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Friday, February 19, 2016

Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska, February 2016 Newsletter

Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska

February 15, 2016 Newsletter


Here’s to hoping you and yours enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. Hard to believe another year has passed, but 2016 is here and the work to protect Alaska’s incredible fish and game habitats and resources goes on. In this edition of the SAA news, you’ll find updates on the Tongass National Forest, Bristol Bay / Pebble Mine, and the Transboundary mining threat, as well as some general tidbits and videos about enjoying the wonders of the Great Land. You can always see a comprehensive collection of news items on the Latest News page.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year 2016!



Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year 2016!


Welcome to the Year of the Red Monkey. How about the serendipity of that considering the color of Donald Trump's hair (LOL)? Who knows where 2016 is going, so this is to wish us all safe journey, BUT I am happy to report I ended 2015 on a high note that has now carried forward into the New Year, so please read on.

photograph _ copyright  Robert Glenn Ketchum 2016
photograph © copyright Robert Glenn Ketchum 2016

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Pebble Mine 2015 in Review: 'The Year of Failing Expensively' by Joel Reynolds

Pebble Mine 2015 in Review:  'The Year of Failing Expensively' by Joel Reynolds

The battle to stop the infamous Pebble Mine isn't over, but if you're a shareholder in the embattled project, 2015 was another disappointing year.
photograph © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2016
In court and in Congress, trying desperately to recharge its reckless scheme for a massive open pit mine in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay wild salmon fishery, The Pebble Partnership ("Pebble") continued throwing good money after bad. In fact, at Pebble headquarters these days, probably the only happy faces belong to the army of Washington, DC lobbyists and lawyers -- including Pebble's DC-based CEO Tom Collier -- who, in 2015, were the most obvious beneficiaries of what little remains of Pebble's cash on hand.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Weekly Post: CHINA Travels Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Traveling in CHINA Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. Earthwatch was one organization that allowed foreigners to visit China without going through too much red-tape. These photographs are a first glimpse into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. 



Friday, December 25, 2015

Traveling in China Since 1985, #163
CHINA #163:   Where once there were rural farming communes, there were now destination resorts. This is the lobby of the hotel in which we had lunch. You are looking at some corporate scale art here: the carved marble on the wall clearly represents waves. That other "stuff" - the "little brown things" - those are individually carved fish on fine strings hanging from the ceiling in front of the wall. When doors open in various parts of the vast lobby, breezes cause the fish to change direction and "swim in schools." The meal was equally over-the-top. You will see many modern and exotic hotels and other architecture in my two blog posts:  Shanghai - Oz of the Orient and Suzhou - 1985 to Present, so I will go no further here. In fact, I am ending this particular blog which I hope you have enjoyed AND I am launching a new blog to replace this - not about China, but about the beginnings of my career. LIMEKILN CREEK: Where It All Began will drop the first Tuesday of 2016. The story starts with a drive home from the @MontereyPopFest in 1967 that includes a camping trip in the redwoods, and a life changing realization about myself and my work. It is a story about nature, photography, AND self-discovery. I hope you will follow this blog.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #China #Suzhou

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism & Art Online:
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Monday, October 19, 2015

What Would Defense Secretary Cohen Have Done With His "Independent" Pebble Mine Report? by Joel Reynolds


What Would Defense Secretary Cohen Have Done With His "Independent" Pebble Mine Report?

In the latest installment in the saga of the embattled Pebble Mine, there is inescapable irony in last week's release of The Pebble Partnership-funded "independent" report by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and his firm The Cohen Group. Based on a brief, undefined investigation, Secretary Cohen concluded to no one's surprise that his client has been unfairly treated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its federal Clean Water Act review of the mining project - just as his client has argued for years.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Pebble Mine's William Cohen PR Stunt: Follow the Money


Pebble Mine's William Cohen PR Stunt: Follow the Money
by Joel Reynolds
Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles
Posted: 10/07/2015 5:55 pm EDT Updated: 10/07/2015 7:59 pm EDT

It's easy to understand why the cash-starved Pebble Partnership, now just a single small Canadian exploration company called Northern Dynasty Minerals, would hire former Defense Secretary William Cohen to review EPA's proposed restriction of Pebble's planned massive copper and gold mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region -- and then try to pass that review off as "independent." Pebble wants to prolong the life of its all but dead mining scheme in the hope that it can turn its shareholders' virtually worthless shares into something valuable enough to sell -- and salvage some kind of return on their investment.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Mandalac Gardens by Robert Glenn Ketchum



From August 11 - September 27, I will be exhibiting new work, MANDALAC GARDENS, at The G2 Gallery in Venice, California. This Constant Contact is background information about my color print-making history in general. and how it has lead me to this new series of "prints." I have also included all 9 of the images that will be in the exhibit, so please give this a read and enjoy the "show."

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cont., Tatshenshini by Robert Glenn Ketchum

TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild by Robert Glenn Ketchum

In 1990, I was invited on a 10-day float down the Tatshenshini, a huge river system flowing from Western Canada to the Pacific Ocean that literally divides two of North America's largest national parks, Canada's Kluane National Park and Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. A gold mine was being proposed mid-river. I broke the story in LIFE magazine. There were many other articles and a book. The mine was never developed and the river is now a wilderness corridor. This is a conservation SUCCESS story!


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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild, #61
TATSHENSHINI:  Saving a River Wild, #61:  @Pentax had become a sponsor of my work and they continued their support by sending me their new medium format 645 camera when it was first introduced. Since I used the larger 6x7 successfully in the field, initially I saw no reason to work with that smaller camera, BUT on this trip I knew I would be in motion on the river and up in the plane, and the 6x7 really demanded working from a tripod. For this trip, I would need a hand-held camera, so it became time to field-tested the #Pentax645. The results of the shoot were BEAUTIFUL (as I hope you agree), so immediately I took the work to New York seeking a “big story” picture magazine spread in a REALLY national publication. @Audubon published a great number of extended photo features, but oddly showed NO interest. @LIFE magazine, on the other hand, responded immediately and in their May, 1991, issue ran a 4-page/5-picture story entitled, "Lost Horizons," that helped create interest from other numerous publications, and A LOT of momentum for a campaign to prevent the mine.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd #Tatshenshini @glacierbaynps @Life @Wilderness #WeAreTheWild @nature_AK

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism & Art Online:
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Cont., Tracy Arm by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
TRACY ARM WILDERNESS - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time by Robert Glenn Ketchum

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act (#Wilderness), this new blog focuses on a wilderness area in the #Tongass rainforest of southeast Alaska. This is the tale of a 10-day kayak trip - a testament to WHY wilderness is important, by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum.





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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
*******


Tuesday, August 4, 2015

TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #50
TRACY ARM Wilderness - An Alaskan Kayak "Trip" Through Time, #50:  The only remaining part of camp you have not seen is the tent-site for myself and Carey. Russell’s tent was situated above the tideline between large rocks and the hillside (see post #48), which caused him to be angled slightly upslope, BUT out of the reach of the water. There was little else useable around that part of camp because the boulders were so large, SO Carey and I went, literally, OUT INTO THE RIVER! The powerful waterfall coming out of the valley and down to the tideline had built a sandbar/boulder “dome” in the middle of the river at peak flood. It was safely above the tideline, and at it’s highest point was quite sandy with just a few smaller rocks. Carey and I cleared enough of them to create a comfortable, tent-sized platform. The one drawback to our location was that the river split and went around both sides of our dome of boulders, so we had to navigate several stream crossings to get to the kitchen and our gear.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wilderness #Wilderness #Tongass

Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism & Art Online:
___________________________________________________

Monday, August 10, 2015

Cont., Hudson River by Robert Glenn Ketchum

by Robert Glenn Ketchum


This is the story of my first major commission and book, THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS (Aperture, 1985). In 1984, #StephenShore, #WilliamClift, and I received a 2-year commission from the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund to photograph the #HudsonRiverValley. This blog tells the tale of the book, with many photos not seen before. Enjoy!


*******
Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!
*******

Monday, July 6, 2015

THE HUDSON RIVER AND THE HIGHLANDS #144:
HUDSON RIVER #144:   #Harriman State Park, in particular, is a spectacle of Eastern, deciduous woodlands. Challenging topography, swamps, bogs, lakes everywhere, and dense forests make Harriman a wonderful place to wander, but as with the not-too-well marked dirt roads, one can easily get lost walking. Even in the winter when most of the trees are leafless, line-of-sight in any direction may only be a few hundred feet. When the trees leaf-out even the sky disappears. As a photographer, I loved this environment but it gave me a whole new respect for navigation with a compass. I suppose if I were on this #HudsonRiver commission today, I would be using the GPS on my #iPhone6+. Hell, I would be using the iPhone6+camera as well! Toss the medium format, the tripod, and those rolls of film that often had to be changed in the pouring rain.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd @Wallacefdn @Aperturefnd @PentaxOnline
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.LittleBearProd.com
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Friday, August 7, 2015

Cont., China by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
Traveling in CHINA Since 1985 by Robert Glenn Ketchum

During the reign of Mao (1949-1976), China was a closed country. China in the 1980’s was 80% rural, with no outside visitors, particularly from the West. When China opened to travelers, the Chinese government placed severe limitations on who was allowed to enter the country. Earthwatch was one organization that allowed foreigners to visit China without going through too much red-tape. These photographs are a first glimpse into China in the mid-1980’s by world-renowned Conservation Photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. 


*******
Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy! *******


Friday, May 29, 2015

Traveling in China Since 1985, #133
CHINA #133:   I've used the term “compound” to describe the #ZhuangyanMansion because it WAS a complex house of interconnected rooms, staircases, terraces surrounded by gardens, and a considerable outer wall. Because it was designed to protect the wealth, and family, of the owner -- besides the hidden room for valued objects and the escape passage to the lake -- the house itself was like a maze, and intentionally confusing to navigate. This #architecture was NOT random. Every twist-and-turn had some purpose, and best of all, every terrace had a view, and a breeze. One could watch for approaching enemies, while cooling off, and having tea!

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Orvis Supports No Pebble Mine

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